U.S. Sues Apple, Publishers Over eBook Prices

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department and several states have sued Apple Inc. and major book publishers, alleging a conspiracy to raise the price of electronic books that Attorney General Eric Holder says cost consumers millions of dollars.

The government also has reached a settlement with three publishers, Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Shuster. It will proceed with its lawsuit in federal court in New York City against Apple and Holtzbrinck Publishers, doing business as Macmillan, and The Penguin Publishing Co. Ltd., doing business as Penguin Group.

Holder told a Justice Department news conference on Wednesday that "we believe that consumers paid millions of dollars more for some of the most popular titles" as a result of the alleged conspiracy. Justice's antitrust chief Sharon Pozen said the scheme added $2 to $3 to the prices of individual books.

Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen said the total cost to consumers was more than $100 million.